HOLMDEL - Bell Works' developer has received approval from Holmdel to build a 200-room boutique hotel that will be perched on top of the former Bell Labs building.

The hotel, with nearly as many rooms as the Sheraton in Eatontown, could provide a unique amenity for Bell Works' tenants that need to accommodate customers and employees.

"Having the ability (for visitors) to stay close to where our office is has always been a challenge for us," said Len Carella, a vice president at iCIMS, a software company that is the biggest tenant at Bell Works.

It's the latest step in the redevelopment of Bell Labs, a 2-million-square-foot building that was home to AT&T's research division that garnered eight Nobel Prizes during its heyday.

It isn't clear when construction would begin; Somerset Development, the building's owner, is searching for an operator. Watch the video above to see drone footage from the massive building.

The project would be one of the Shore's biggest hotels. By comparison, Ocean Place Resort and Spa in Long Branch has 256 rooms, and the Sheraton has 208 rooms.

Another hotel project nearby has gotten the green light. Gode Hotels received approval from Hazlet to build a four-story, 93-room Holiday Inn Express. It would be adjacent to a 121-room Holiday Inn on Route 35 that it owns, said Sharon Keegan, a Hazlet zoning official.

The Bell Works project, however, appears unique. The lobby would be on the ground floor with elevators taking guests to the roof. An artist's rendering shows visitors lounging by a rooftop infinity pool. And it can tap into a captive audience; Bell Works' office space is 75 percent leased and includes tenants such as iCIMS that host out-of-town visitors.

Carella from iCIMS said the hotel was a selling point in its decision to move to Bell Works. Its out-of-town employees and customers can dine at the building's restaurants, train at its auditorium, and theoretically never need to leave.

"The ability to do that in our office is something basically no other company I’ve seen can say they can do,” Carella said.